The present invention relates in general to feeding articles for infants. In particular, the present invention relates to a handle which attaches to an infant""s feeding bowl.
In the feeding of infants, the food, normally a puree, is typically held within a bowl or deep plate. In attempting to avoid the child xe2x80x9cplayingxe2x80x9d with the food, parents will typically hold the bowl in one hand, well away from the infant, while feeding the infant with the other. This is normally achieved by supporting the bowl bottom with the fingers while engaging the thumb with and over the bowl rim, the thumb occasionally slipping into the food. On occasion, there is also a problem with stability arising from the single point of contact between the thumb and the bowl rim.
Another problem frequently encountered in infant feeding is the tendency to load the spoon with too much food. While the infant spoon is generally sized for acceptance within the infant""s mouth, if the spoon is overloaded or overflowing with the food, the food normally ends up smeared upon the infant""s face and quickly spread about the infant by the infant""s hands and normal curiosity as to what is on his/her face. Thus, the parent must be well practiced in carefully loading the spoon for a clean introduction of at least a major portion of the food into the infant""s mouth.
The present invention involves a multi-purpose accessory which, in a simple and efficient manner, releasably mounts to a feeding bowl and, when mounted, provides an elongate gripping area along a significant portion of the rim, a convenient thumb rest outwardly spaced from the bowl and shielded therefrom, and an upper flange conveniently positioned to act as a splatter shield. This upper flange may be inclined inward to form a scraping edge to allow for a leveling of the spoon contents prior to an attempted insertion into the infant""s mouth.
The handle accessory is preferably a unitary item of an appropriate food-compatible synthetic resinous material which snaps onto the bowl rim to provide an interlocking engagement therewith sufficient to provide for a stable thumb rest and food-leveling edge, while at the same time allowing the accessory to be readily released from the bowl for cleaning purposes.
Basically, the accessory comprises an elongate rim mount defined by parallel spaced flanges forming a downwardly directed receiving groove which is adapted to engage over and receive the bowl rim. The actual engagement with the bowl rim can be enhanced by internal undercuts in either or both flanges as deemed best as to accommodate the actual configuration of the bowl rim, that is slightly beaded, enlarged, or the like.
The outer flange preferably extends slightly below the inner flange. Both flanges, for convenience of mounting, may have slightly outwardly flared lower and inner faces.
The thumb rest is integrally formed with the outer flange along the lower edge portion thereof and centrally thereof. This rust projects laterally outward from the outer flange and has an upwardly curving outer end portion which tends to assist in retaining the thumb on the rest and preventing any accidental slipping therefrom. While the thumb engages the rest at basically one point along the length of the rim, it will be appreciated that the retaining force thereof is transferred along a substantial portion of the length of the rim by the rim mount. This tends to substantially enhance the stability of the gripping of the bowl.
The upper flange, which is preferably coextensive with the length of the rim mount, tapers upwardly and inwardly relative thereto, providing a scraping edge against which the filled spoon can be easily slid to level the food, preferably no higher than the upper rim of the spoon. It will also be recognized that this upper flange an effective splatter shield for the outwardly positioned thumb.
As a variation, the handle accessory can also incorporate an elongate support projection integral with the outer flange and extending from the lower edge thereof in alignment with the thumb rest. This support projection arcs downwardly and inwardly beyond the inner flange so as to underlie the side and bottom of the bowl for a substantial transverse portion thereof. In this manner, the support projection itself provides for a direct support of the bowl with or without an actual positioning of the hand beneath the bowl. Such a support projection can also allow for a direct holding of the bowl solely by the thumb rest. However, this would not be a preferred manner of handling the bowl or using the handle accessory. The mounting of the accessory with support projection can easily be effected by swinging the support projection downwardly about the bowl and engaging the rim mount groove with the bowl rim in basically a single movement. Removal will be equally simple.
The accessory itself, while substantially rigid, will include a sufficient resilient flexibility, as to allow for a ready mounting and removal of the accessory, a slight flexing of the rim mount to accommodate bowls of slightly varying arcs, and an effective and releasable snap locking of the rim mount to the bowl.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the further details of the invention to be more specifically set forth.